learning to do things like sit, stay, lay etc are training issues which I help my clients with, however, there is a difference between training issues and behavior issues. Nonetheless, many pet owners are frustrated by the difficulty that can accompany simple tasks like "learning to sit".
Mary had a small poodle mix that would not stay still long enough to sit and get rewarded. Mary would say "sit", and then again "sit' and a few seconds later "sit. In fact she would say sit, sit, sit over and over to no avail.
When I arrived at the house the first thing we did was to go for a walk and a short run. We came back and had a "free" treat. I took Greta into the living room and let her smell the treat in my hands. She kept jumping and twisting in excitement for the treat. I did not issue any command until she settled down a little bit-apparently losing hope in her ability to jump high enough-as she became confused as to how to get the treat. When she seemed to look at me for a split second I said "sit", one time, and waited. I waited 20 seconds and then she sat just long enough for me to give her a treat.
Great learned to sit within 15 minutes. Only gve a command once and then wait 10, 20, even 40 seconds for the desired behavior to occur. Give the command at a lull, not in the hype of the moment. reward immediately when the behavior occurs or "almost occurs".
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